New Podcast Twice Removed

There’s a new genealogy-related podcast called Twice Removed. It’s hosted by AJ Jacobs. That name may sound familiar. He is the one who organized the Global Family Reunion a couple of years ago. This event was meant to bring together everyone as one big family because we are all somehow related.

This is the underlying theme of the podcast. There is a guest and AJ goes over the guest’s ancestry with stories of some interesting people from the past. These people may not be direct ancestors but somehow related.

At the end of the podcast a mystery guest is introduced to the main guest. This mystery guest is somehow distantly related to the main guest.

New Windows Program GedSite

There’s a new Windows program called GedSite that will take a GEDCOM file and create a website. It was developed by the same person who developed Second Site which creates websites from the software program The Master Genealogist. This program is no longer being updated.

GEDCOM is a format that has been around for many years and it hasn’t been updated. The GEDCOM format is used to export your data from a genealogy program and import it into another program. Many programs save GEDCOM files differently. GedSite takes this into consideration and will process the file based on what software program was used to save the file.

The program costs $25 and there will be free updates over the next 12 to 18 months.

TreeView Version 2

TreeView is a program that was released at the beginning of 2016. It is a genealogy database program that can sync your data at the TreeView website or TheGenealogist, a subscription site in the UK. There are also mobile apps for iOS and Android.

Now they have come out with version 2. Some new features in version 2 include linked charts so your charts are updated with changes you’ve made to your database, more charting features to customize charts, new customizable reports, create individual reports about one person, drag and drop mapping, and improved search.

TreeView costs £24.95 for the download edition and £39.95 for the premium edition. The premium edition contains some extra content and a 4-month subscription to TheGenealogist. If you already have TreeView you can upgrade for £14.95.

RootsMagic Updates

RootsMagic has had some minor updates. An issue has been fixed due to a change with FamilySearch Family Tree. It caused unrelated persons to appear as spouses in the Share Data screen and the “Not matched to FamilySearch” filter on ShareData screen has been fixed.

There is now a progress dialog for backup and there are a couple of newly dedicated temples.

RootsMagic is still developing the ability to sync with Ancestry trees. It was supposed to be completed by the end of 2016 but they have announced that it will not happen by the end of 2016. It should be available in a few months.

RootsMagic is looking for beta testers to test this new feature when it’s ready.

Ancestral Quest Version 15 Released

Ancestral Quest Version 15 has been released. Some new features include TreeTips™ research assistant and Memories Manager.

TreeTips are hints about records for your ancestors that you can find at MyHeritage, FamilySearch, and Findmypast. The hints are free. To view the records, you will need subscriptions to MyHeritage and Findmypast. FamilySearch is free.

Memories Manager lets you download documents and photos for your ancestors found in the FamilySearch Family Tree. You can also upload to FamilySearch Family Tree.

It is now easier to import ancestral lines from FamilySearch. In the previous version, this was done for each individual, now you can import all ancestors for the selected person.

Pedigree View has been enhanced to display more individuals and Family View displays an icon next to a child if there is more information about the child such as a spouse and children.

When merging individuals, you can see a side-by-side comparison as well as the over/under comparison in recent versions.

Ancestral Quest Basic is available for free with a limited amount of features. The full Ancestral Quest program contains all the features and costs $29.95 for Windows and $38.95 for Mac. Upgrades cost $19.95 for Windows and $24.95 for Mac.

Incline Software Releases Ancestral Quest 15

New Version of Heredis Coming

A new version of Heredis will be released in January. The current version is Heredis 2015 and if you purchase that version now you will get the new version for free when it’s released.

Heredis is a French company and its genealogy software is popular in France and England.

Clooz Update

And there has been a minor update to Clooz. It will be fully compatible with the next version of Legacy, which will be version 9. The latest update also corrected an error in the list of external files in the File menu.

Freedmen’s Bureau Records Given to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture

During this past year, the Freedmen’s Bureau records were indexed. The goal was to have this project completed in time for the opening of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. The museum opened on September 24th.

FamilySearch has now given the indexed database of Freedmen’s Bureau Records to the museum. The Freedmen’s Bureau was created after the Civil War to assist freed slaves. The records contain a wide range of information. Many freed slaves recorded their marriages, listed their former owners, and labor and apprenticeship agreements. You can also find information about black soldiers, hospital registers, and census records.

The Bureau also helped those who were destitute and jobless after the war. This included whites and blacks. The Bureau helped to enforce labor contracts, established schools, processed complaints, and managed, leased and sold land that was abandoned by Confederates and sympathizers.

All of the indexed Freedmen’s Bureau Records can be searched for free at discoverfreedmen.org.

New Records at Findmypast

Findmypast has added lots of new articles to the British Newspapers collection and they have added 8 new titles – the Northern Daily Telegraph, Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, Britannia and Eve, The Sketch, The Sphere, Evening Star, Shipley Times and Express and the Southern Echo.

There are new collections for Buckingshamshire marriages, a Worcestershire probate index 1660 – 1858, Queensland Passports Index 1915 – 1925, and the New South Wales 1841 Census.

The British Army discharges collection contains information about those who served in the King’s Royal Rifle Corps from 1854 – 1880.

The Middlesex War Memorials collection contains transcripts taken from War memorials found in over 40 parishes in Middlesex.

More records have been added to the collection of British Histories and Reference Guides. This collection contains many publications that can be useful for understanding what life was like in Britain during the 19th and 20th centuries.

Some new records have been added for New Zealand. There is a collection for New Zealand Officiating Ministers in 1882. Another collection contains information on those who were memorialized in Auckland’s Waikaraka Cemetery. These were veterans’ who fought for the Empire and who died at the Auckland Veterans’ Home between 1902 and 1940.

One more collection for New Zealand consists of records about those who sat for the annual examinations for admission to, or promotion in, the Civil Service in mid-December 1906 and mid-January 1907.

Tennessee Land Records Available at the State Archives

The Tennessee State Library and Archives has early Tennessee land records available to those who visit the library.

There are different types of records for obtaining land – warrants, entries, survey documents, plats and the grants. These records may list where the first settlers of Tennessee came from and from whom they obtained land.

Alabama Media Group Donates Images to State Archives

The Alabama Media Group is donating a massive collection of historical photographic negatives to the Alabama Department of Archives and History. The images will be preserved, cataloged, digitized and eventually be made available online to the public.

There are more than 3 million images from The Birmingham News, The Huntsville Times and Mobile’s Press-Register. They chronicle the people, places and events of the 20th century in Alabama.

As the images are digitized they will be added to the Alabama Media Group section on the state archives’ site – digital.archives.alabama.gov. There are already 195,000 images there.

The images will be free to browse. Permission to use the images must be obtained in writing from the Alabama Department of Archives and History. Commercial use of an image is subject to a reproduction rights fee.

Website for First Black People in America

There is a new website that traces the history of the first Black people in the Americas. It was created by The City College of New York- based CUNY Dominican Studies Institute. The site is in English and Spanish.

There is information about the first black-African population and their descendants that lived during the 16th century in La Española, the Island now shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

LAC Update on Canadian Expeditionary Force Personnel Service Files

The Library and Archives Canada continues to digitize the Canadian Expeditionary Force Personnel Service Files. These are service files for soldiers of the First World War. They are digitizing the files basically in alphabetical order and they still in the letter M. They are up to the surname Morello.

They digitized over 31,000 files last month and the project is now expected to be completed in April 2018 according John D. Reid who writes the Anglo-Celtic Connections blog. Last month the expected completion was calculated to be in August 2018.

Each month the completion date gets sooner rather than later. LAC continues to make good progress on this collection.

New BMD Records Coming to ScotlandsPeople

Every year on January 1st new birth, marriage, and death records are released on the ScotlandsPeople website. This year they will be released on January 5th so the staff will be available to respond to any issues that might arise. The ScotlandsPeople’s website was upgraded this past year.

On January 5th, you will find births for 1916, marriages for 1941, and deaths for 1966.

PRONI Ordnance Survey Maps

The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) has launched a free online historical maps viewer. The maps are for the six counties of present-day Northern Ireland – Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry and Tyrone.

The maps are historical Ordnance Survey maps that you overlay on a current map. There are seven editions of the maps representing different years.

Education Site for Irish History

Well known Irish genealogist John Grenham has let everyone know about a free course about Irish family history found at a new website called 2016 Family History. The site is produced in collaboration between the National Archives, the Department of Education and IrishGenealogy.ie. It is meant to be used in a classroom to learn about Irish history but anyone can access it.

You can work at your pace to learn about Irish history. There are eight modules. Each module has an introductory video, a description of the source, and a series of practice exercises with answers. The exercises are based on two case studies.

Money Allocated to Fund Trove

The Australian government has issued its Mid Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook. There will be $16.4 million to be spread out over 4 years to the National Library of Australia for digitization of material and upgrade of the critical infrastructure for its Trove digital information resource.

Trove is the website for the National Library of Australia. You can find online resources there for Australia such as books, images, historic newspapers, maps, music, and archives.

Last year funding was cut and it was announced that there would not be new material placed at Trove.

APG Discount at The National Institute for Genealogical Studies

Those who belong to APG (Association of Professional Genealogist) have new member benefit – discounts to courses at The National Institute for Genealogical Studies. APG members will receive 20% off individual courses and 10% off course packages.

The National Institute for Genealogical Studies offers over 200 courses and 10 certificate programs.

Genetic Genealogist, CeCe Moore, Keynote Speaker at RootsTech

There’s some more RootsTech news. The keynote speaker for Saturday, February 11, will be genetic genealogist CeCe Moore. She currently is a consultant and scriptwriter for the PBS show Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates.

She is the co-founder of the Institute for Genetic Genealogy. Their conference was recently held in October and you can purchase 19 lectures that were given at the conference for $99.

Family Discovery Day Streamed Live

The Saturday, February 11, at RootsTech is Family Discovery Day. There are activities on that day where individuals and families of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are inspired to discover and celebrate their family connections. Family Discovery Day sessions will be streamed live on the homepage of LDS.org and on the Mormon Channel’s YouTube channel.

Coming Up

There is not much coming up in the next two weeks.

The Geneatopia calendar has listed all the upcoming webinars that have been scheduled for next year. It has the usual list of characters – Legacy, FamilySearch, BYU, Ontario Genealogical Society (they don’t have their 2017 schedule out yet), Southern California Genealogical Society, Illinois State Genealogical Society, Wisconsin State Genealogical Society, Georgia Genealogical Society, North Carolina Genealogical Society, and the New England Historical Genealogical Society.

Also on the calendar are Second Life events, Twitter #genchats, and hangouts from Dear Myrtle and BlackProGen.

Lots going on in 2017.

And that’s it for this episode.

You can send email to geneatopia@gmail.com

You can find links to things mentioned in this show in the show notes at Geneatopia.com as well as a transcript. The transcript can also be found in the Geneatopia Flipboard magazine.